


Of Ribbons And Princesses

by EllanaSan



Series: Oria-verse [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Kicking The Odds-verse, Kid Fic, Oria-verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 11:18:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3247703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllanaSan/pseuds/EllanaSan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Effie huffed but didn’t lowered herself to answer. She watched them all as they continued to banter, her family. She loved them all so dearly:  the children, her daughter and Haymitch. All safe and sound, all accounted for. She could never ask for anything else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Ribbons And Princesses

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote Kicking The Odds and published it a while ago and I later wrote prompts and story featuring Oria in them but I never got around to publish them on AO3 so I'm bringing them over .

“Orianna, no running in the house!” Effie called out from the kitchen where she was setting the table. The five years old little girl ran into the kitchen, obviously not listening to her mother’s warnings, and immediately came to hide behind her legs.

“Shhhh.” the girl instructed Effie, a finger pressed to her tiny lips.

Haymitch appeared on the threshold a few seconds later, breathless. She should have known. He was usually the first to break her rules. “Where’s the little demon?” he asked, making a show of opening cupboards all over the kitchen. Effie smiled indulgently, watching him pretend not to hear the loud giggles. “Sweetheart, I think we lost the baby.” he said at last, in a dramatic tone.

The giggles only increased and Oria leaned heavily against her legs, obviously in raptures over the trick she was playing on him.

“Well, I certainly hope not.” Effie folded her arms, playing along. “What will Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta think when they get here with strawberry cake only to find out there’s no one to eat it?”

Haymitch smirked. “I will eat the cake. All the cake. There won’t be _any_ _crumb_ left.”

“No!” Oria exclaimed, horrified. She stepped from behind Effie and shook her fingers at Haymitch like her mother always did when she was scolding her. “You can’t eat _all the cake_ , Daddy! It’s _rude_!”

Haymitch rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his amusement. “Look what you did to my girl, Effie.” he sighed, scooping the child up and tossing her easily on his shoulder which prompted even more laughter. “She’s teaching me manners, now.”

“With reasons.” Effie pointed out, placing the last glass on the table. “You don’t have any.”

“Don’t I?” he teased, wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her close.

“Group hug!” the little girl shouted, squirming a little to be able to hug both her mother and her father at the same time. She was always so full of energy, Effie mused, stroking the small arm locked around her neck that was threatening to strangle her sooner rather than later.

“Alright.” Effie said, pressing a kiss on Oria’s cheek. “Enough hugging. They will be here in a matter of minutes, go wash your hands and, while you’re at it, fetch the red ribbon from your room, your hair is all spiked up.”

Oria pouted when Haymitch put her back on the ground. “Do I have to?” She gave him her best puppy eyes and Effie silently counted to three. Sure enough, at three, Haymitch looked at her with a pleading expression that rivaled their daughter’s but Effie only lifted an eyebrow and he shrugged. “If Mommy says you do, you do, baby girl.”

Oria wasn’t pleased with that but she still headed up to her room, shuffling her feet.

“She says _jump_ and you ask _how high_.” Effie teased, more or less seriously. Haymitch had been so insecure in the beginning that it was sweet to see how good a father he was, but she sometimes thought it a little unfair to be the only one insisting on some discipline.

“She gets bigger and bigger every day.” Haymitch complained. “She will be eighteen soon and we will be _so_ old then, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes, well used to his theatrics by now, and pecked his cheek on her way to the sink. “I don’t think you should worry about that just yet.”

The back door opened on Katniss and Peeta – who never bothered to knock – and Effie had barely time to greet them before the stomping sound of tiny feet barreled down the stairs.

“No running in the house!” Effie reminded Oria to no avail.  

The red ribbon flew in the air when the little girl threw it at her father to rush to the very pregnant belly of Katniss. “Auntie!” Oria shrieked in delight. Katniss, for some reason, had always been very popular with Effie’s daughter. Effie suspected it had much to do with the ‘secret games’ Haymitch and Katniss organized for her in the woods when Effie wasn’t looking. Did they really think she didn’t know they were teaching her daughter how to hunt and survive in the wild? She couldn’t tell, it wasn’t something they ever talked about. Effie wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea but so many bad things had happened to her, she knew those skills could help Oria someday, so… “Is the baby out yet? Can I play with him?”

“Not yet, kid.” Katniss smiled, ruffling Oria’s hair. The little girl was very busy pressing her ear against Katniss’ stomach in hope of hearing the baby.

Effie and Haymitch exchanged a fond glance. She was so cute… If wasn’t because she was her daughter but Effie really thought Orianna was the cutest child to ever walk the earth.

“Can I have a hug too or should I be jealous ?” Peeta teased, after wisely putting the cake away on the kitchen counter. Peeta obviously got his hug because it was no secret that, one day, when she was old enough, Oria intended to marry him regardless of Katniss and their unborn child. Haymitch had turned green when she had proudly stated as such one night during dinner. Effie found it very funny.

She took the ribbon from Haymitch before he lost it or, worse, fed it to his geese. “Come here, Oria.”

The girl looked at what she was holding and made a face. “That’s for princess! Princess are silly. I want a braid like Auntie.”

“Prince _sses_ aren’t silly.” Effie chided her. “Who told you that?” She glared at Haymitch who wasn’t even trying to hide his amusement.

“You can have a braid _and_ a ribbon.” Katniss said, holding out her hand for the red strap of satin. “Come here.” She sat on one of the kitchen chair with obvious relief and braided Oria’s hair quickly and efficiently before securing it in place with the ribbon. “There, as pretty as a princess.”

“ _You_ don’t have a ribbon.” Oria pointed out, pulling on her new braid to admire it.

“Auntie isn’t well-mannered enough to be a princess.” Peeta said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Auntie can still kick Uncle’s butt, pregnant or not.” Katniss retorted.

“Katniss, language.” Effie scolded her. Really, she sometimes had the sensation she was living with a bunch of five years old instead of only one.

“See?” Peeta triumphed, pretending not to notice the glare his wife was sending his way.

“Daddy says Mommy is a princess and Mommy is very polite.” Oria concurred seriously.

“Daddy says a lot of stupid things.” Haymitch snorted.

“Truer words had never been spoken.” Effie replied.

“How’s your couch, Haymitch?” Katniss teased. “Because I think you’re sleeping on it tonight.”

“Nah.” he smirked. “When Effie’s angry, the whole neighborhood knows it.”

“True enough.” Peeta laughed.

Effie huffed but didn’t lowered herself to answer. She watched them all as they continued to banter, her family. She loved them all so dearly: the children, her daughter and Haymitch. All safe and sound, all accounted for. She could never ask for anything else.


End file.
